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| Supporters of the Imam Mahmoud Dicko and other opposition political parties attend a mass protest demanding the resignation of Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in Bamako, Mali August 11, 2020. The blue sign reads: “Russia is the hope for Mali, Putin=Solution”. REUTERS/Rey Byhre |
Thousands of people took to the streets of Maliโs rainy capital Bamako on Tuesday renewing calls for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to step down despite international mediation efforts to resolve a political crisis.
Protests led by an opposition coalition called M5-RFP have raged since June, caused by contested local elections and perceived government corruption and incompetence.
Tensions escalated in July when police shot dead at least 11 demonstrators.
Regional powers are worried that prolonged unrest could derail the fight against Islamist extremists in the region, many of whom are centered in Mali. Their presence has rendered large areas of the center and north of Mali ungovernable.
Keita had hoped that concessions to opponents, and recommendations from a mediating delegation of regional leaders would help stem the tide of disaffection.
But the majority of protestors appeared unmoved as they filed into Bamakoโs heaving Independence Square in their thousands on Tuesday, shouting โKeita step downโ and โlisten to your peopleโ.
โM5-Rfp demands purely and simply the resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his regime to allow for a democratic transition,โ prominent M5-RFP member Ibrahim Maiga told the cheering crowd.
REUTERS
